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Today marks one month since I started following a keto diet. I’m happy to report that I have lost a total of 12 pounds!

I lost all 12 lbs during the first 3 weeks of the month. The 4th week was…a bit of a wreck for me. I was so confident in my weight loss that I was having little cheat-y snacks all over the place. Eating popcorn, a cookie or piece of candy…it got out of hand pretty quickly. Luckily, I didn’t do THAT much damage. I gained 2lbs. Womp, womp.

I’m not beating myself up over the 2lbs. I still have 10lbs of weight gone. It’s not much, but it has made me feel more confident. I don’t see a 10lbs weight loss when I look in the mirror, but my dresses feel a little less snug!

I learned something during my week of cheaties. I learned that I remain in ketosis up to 35g of carbs. With this knowledge I did a little editing of my macros. My macros are now

Carbs-10%(35g)

Fat-65%(101g)

Protein-25% (88g)

I’ll be sticking to it like white on rice for the next month. I have a goal of losing 8lbs in the next month, Which will be a total of 20lbs by August 15th. If I stick to my macros and add in some exercise, I’m sure I’ll hit it.

Anyone have any suggestions for foods to help me reach my 88g of protein each day? No matter how hard I try, I can never meet my protein goals! Should I get some protein powder? What brands are tasty and what brands should I avoid?

I’m still going strong on my Keto diet. Yesterday I had my first craving for something sweet. My usual keto “sweet” is a cup of sugar free jello, topped with a tablespoon of whipped cream. But yesterday, I wanted something a bit sweeter. I did a little researching and found this recipe for keto-friendly peanut butter cookies. It’s completely the same recipe as the other peanut butter cookies I made on the blog, but with Splenda instead of sugar.

I was so looking forward to these cookies, but in the end I was disappointed with them. I definitely won’t make these again.They actually tasted alright, but the after taste was just gross. It alone makes me never want to make these again. I had to “chase” the cookie with coffee to get the taste out of my mouth. I think I’ll just stick with my jello until I find another keto-friendly “sweet” recipe. :)

I didn’t take any pictures of the keto-friendly cookies. But, here’s a picture from the last flourless peanut butter cookies I made. They looked exactly the same as these. Only difference was the taste! *blech*

I started a new diet. The only diets I’ve ever followed were eating less and counting calories. They worked, but due to my PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), I’ve never been able to sustain the weight loss. Thus, my new diet is actually a life-style change. I’m trying a low-carb ketogenic diet. Eating a lower carb or keto diet will reverse some of the PCOS symptoms.

Women with PCOS are at risk for endometrial cancers, diabetes, weight gain,hair loss, high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems, depression…you get the gist. BAD THINGS! Besides the weight gain and difficulty to lose it, PCOS has already given me a WHOLE lot of other problems including changes to my skin and hair, insulin resistance, and some menstruation issues. There’s medication for some of these issues. Unfortunately, I’m unable to take any of them due to the terrible side effects they have on me. So, I’m taking a more natural approach. Last summer my OBGYN suggested a low carb diet to curb the symptoms of PCOS. But of course I ignored him. It wasn’t until I took a break from roller derby (broke my coccyx in August 2012 and haven’t recovered since!) and put on more weight that I decided to take controlling my syndrome seriously.

After failing to lose weight counting calories, I researched diets and joined forums for PCOS support. A lot of women with PCOS found success controlling the disorder by lowering their carb intake. Eating a diet low in carbs lowers your insulin levels and improves many symptoms of PCOS. I read a study that showed women who ate a low carb diet reduced their triglycerides and testosterone levels, which are commonly elevated in women with PCOS. Low carb diets help to lower insulin secretion, which improves insulin resistance.

The low carb diet that I’m following is Keto. I found all the information about this diet from forums, websites, and the all knowing Reddit communities r/keto and the female focused one, r/xxketo. I can’t believe it, but I’ve successfully completed one week on keto. Why am I so surprised? Because for the past, umpteenth years I’ve eaten close to 250+ carbs a day. I’m a candyholic guys. Even when I was counting calories I would just eat my allotted calories in candy! To find out how to eat on the ketogenic diet, I used the Keto Calculator. My recommended diet is

1590

Daily Calorie Intake

25

g Carbohydrates (6%)

122

g Protein (31%)

111

g Fat (63%)

I tweaked it around a bit and it’s more like 20g carbs(5%), Protein 139g (35%), Fat 106g(60%). I keep up with my daily intake on myfitnesspal.

So far, I’ve been successful on Keto. The first couple of days were super hard because I craved carbs and sugar. Surprisingly, I didn’t cave. I just found keto-friendly substitutes for my favorite snacks. And even though it’s only been a week, I already see my cravings toward high-carb foods disappearing. I even trust myself so much, that I allowed my bf to bring chips back in the house. I’ll update the blog periodically with progress pics and new recipes I’m trying. In August I see my OBGYN for blood tests. Hopefully this diet not only has an effect on my waist line, but my hormone levels as well. Even though I can’t get rid of PCOS, I want need to reverse and lower as many symptoms as I can.